Gold shorts, fishnets and corsets, oh my! The Performing Otters brought Transsexual, Transylvania to the Otter Student Union with their second-ever shadow cast performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The Performing Otters cast members embodied the film’s creatures of the night by acting as them in front of a projector screen, which played the 1975 musical comedy-horror film behind them. Taking on their mannerisms and lip-syncing every word, it was clear each member attentively studied the film in preparation for Friday’s showing.
Playing the doe-eyed ingenue Janet Weiss, Claire Johnson batted her eyes and exaggerated tongue-in-cheek dialogue, understanding the purity of her character as the butt of the joke, especially compared to boldly raunchy characters like Frank-N-Furter.
Marlee Dials, a fourth-year Cinematic Arts and Technology major, played Frank-N-Furter last year. She directed The Performing Otters this year and received an enthusiastic welcome from an audience of about 150.
“It’s only our second year doing it, but it seems to be getting a little traction, so we’re excited,” said Dials. “Seeing everyone out here tonight just made me so emotional. I love this show so much, seeing all the hard work everyone put in really hit me in my heart.”
Dials acted as the emcee for the evening, conducting the pre-show costume contest and explaining the tradition of audience participation in the show.
Each table in the OSU ballroom contained props for the crowd to engage with. Party hats were worn for Rocky’s birthday scene, and rose petals were thrown in the air during the wedding. During the song “Over at the Frankenstein Place,” newspapers were used in place of umbrellas (copying Brad and Janet), and viewers waved their flashlights as they sang, “There’s a light.”
Audience seating also worked as part of the set. The tables were laid out with room for performers to act, dance and (at times) run through as they’re being chased by a wild Frank-N-Furter. The display also allowed players to interact with the audience, a favorite of this year’s Columbia, played by fourth-year environmental studies major, Cydney Gaither.
“I really like going into the crowd and [doing] a bunch of crowd work,” said Gaither. “We had a few points where we could go into the crowd, and I got to see all the people who support me and goof around with my friends.”
Another staple of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is audience callouts. In the many years since its release, thousands of callouts have been created. Friday’s crowd stuck to those provided by Dial, which made fun of Brad and Janet.
One table, however, was vocal throughout the night. Having a callout for each moment of the show, and making the audience laugh with their commentary. One of the table members, Sage Papazian, was in local theater group Paper Wings Theatre’s production of the play this year.
“I’ve been seeing this since I was 13, and I’m 24 next week, so I’ve been growing up seeing this show since god knows how long and I learned all the callouts from then,” Papazian stated.
Long time fan of and participant of the show, Papazian thought highly of The Performing Otters’ performance.
“They did phenomenal, I’m glad I got to see it and I hope they do it next year so I can come to it again,” Papazian said.
For Performing Otter cast member Gaither, the spooky season isn’t complete without “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
“Rocky Horror is a queer cult classic, and it’s not Halloween unless I’ve seen Rocky Horror. So, to be a part of it, it definitely brings the season to life.”